Karl-Anthony Towns Just Spent Nearly $1M on an Aaron Judge Grail Card
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NBA champion Karl-Anthony Towns is currently playing on a $220 million contract, so what's nearly $1 million to own one of the best Aaron Judge cards in existence?
The New York Knicks star and hobby enthusiast is the new owner of Judge's 1/1 Gold Dual Logoman Auto after purchasing it for $900K during a Fanatics Collects auction in late August.
The card, which celebrates Judge's back-to-back MVP seasons in 2024 and 2025 with two gold Logoman patches and an on-card autograph with a "back-to-back" inscription, is the fourth-highest sale in history involving the New York Yankees star.
ALL RISE 🗽 https://t.co/0ryS4MJ2ge
— Karl-Anthony Towns (@KarlTowns) August 31, 2026
Aaron Judge Dual Gold Logoman Auto's Journey from California to Karl-Anthony Towns
The Judge grail card's journey to Towns' hands captures the essence of the hobby.
The card, which appeared in the 2026 Topps Chrome Baseball product as a redemption, was pulled on the July 22 release day.
A father of two bought one - yes, one - hobby box to open with his children and pulled the redemption in the third pack, according to Fanatics Collects.
The card dropped off at the National a week later before being put up for auction in August.
Karl-Anthony Towns isn't a Casual Sports Card Collector
Towns' purchase shouldn't come as a surprise to those familiar with the hobby.
He owns a breaking company, Big Bodega Breaks, and is consistently making waves with his rips and bounties.
Towns pulled the 2024 Topps Inception Yoshinobu Yamamoto MLB Logo Patch Auto 1/1 in a PSA 10 that he sold for $72,000 in November 2025.
The Knicks star has also been known to put bounties on cards, usually WWE grails.
More recently, he showed off his 1/1 Topps Now card with Patrick Ewing celebrating the title.
NBA Champion Karl-Anthony Towns shows off his 1/1 trading card with Knicks legend Patrick Ewing 🔥
— Topps (@Topps) July 31, 2026
(via karltowns/IG) pic.twitter.com/3q6NMqv1IV
All Rise: Aaron Judge's Other Top Sales
It takes a special card to break into Judge's top five sales.
The Dual Gold Logoman edged out a May 2026 sale of the 2013 Bowman Chrome Draft Picks & Prospects Superfractor 1/1 that went for $838,750. That card is Judge's top non-autograph sale by more than $600,000.
The top three Judge sales of all time are all superfractors or 1/1 autographs and cost collectors seven figures.
The third-highest-selling Judge card is the 2017 Topps Dynasty 1/1 Logoman Autograph in a BGS 9.5. That card sold for $1.95 million in April 2026.
The runner-up is the 2025 Topps Chrome Dual Gold Logoman 1/1 with Shohei Ohtani. That card honored the 2024 American League and National League MVPs and sold for $2.16 million in March 2026.
The top sale for a Judge card is also the top sale for a modern baseball card.
Judge's 2013 Bowman Chrome Draft Prospect Superfractor Auto 1/1 in a BGS 9.5 sold for $5.2 million in March 2026. It flew past the previous modern record of $3.94 million set by Mike Trout's 2009 Bowman Chrome Draft Prospect Superfractor Auto 1/1 in 2020.
Judge's 2026 season has been cut short due to a rib injury suffered in late May.
He's played in just 59 games this season, slugging 17 home runs and driving in 38 runs with a .907 OPS.
Judge's return from the injury list seems imminent, which could be good news for the Yankees and collectors alike as the postseason nears.
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Danny Shapiro is a Phoenix native who has suffered through years of Arizona sports futility, but is still giddy when collecting his teams' players from the newest card releases. He is a former journalist turned communications professional who got back into collecting in 2024 after years of putting together binders as a child. He is likely one of the hobby's biggest Lourdes Gurriel Jr. collectors and enjoys traveling, concerts and a good crime documentary.
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